


Killua, Kurapika and the Succession War

by BlueLightningAndNexus



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alluka is precious to Killua, For Want of a Nail, Implied Kurapika/Leorio, Killua in the Succession War AU, Killua wants to kill Hisoka, One Shot, Set right before the Black Whale sets sail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueLightningAndNexus/pseuds/BlueLightningAndNexus
Summary: When Kurapika gathers a group of allies to infiltrate the Succession War, he reaches out to Killua, who accepts his offer.This is a one-shot, setting up a Succession War with Killua present at the start and Kurapika already well-aware that Hisoka is onboard and using this to persuade Killua to join. In the process, we get to see how Killua and Kurapika's relationship has changed, how both men view Hisoka, and how concerned Killua is for his friend.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight & Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika & Killua Zoldyck
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Killua, Kurapika and the Succession War

“Hisoka Morow is on that ship, and my intention is to kill him,” Kurapika said in a venomous tone. 

Killua glanced up at the older boy. In the short time since they’d become friends at the Hunter Exam, Kurapika had grown so much. His hair was longer, heightening his already naturally androgynous look; his face seemed older and sadder, like that of a soldier; and a bitterness always lingered in his tone. 

Kurapika also noticed how much older Killua seemed. He’d changed, matured, evolved. Gone was that ruthless brutality that defined him during the Hunter Exam, such as when he killed Jones; and gone was that uncaring, detached facade he had during the initial phases. He had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, a skip in his step, a burst of energy in every word he spoke. He was much taller, too; pretty soon, he’d catch up to Kurapika in height, much to the older boy’s chagrin. 

The two were overlooking the Black Whale, a massive ship that Killua had only learned about mere hours before. They stood atop a hill next to the harbor, watching as hundreds of thousands of people entered the massive ship. If what Killua told Kurapika was true, Hisoka was inside. 

“I’m surprised you care. Didn’t he help you back in Yorknew? I thought you said you were going to focus solely on collecting the eyes of your fallen brethren.”

Kurapika’s scowl deepend, but his anger wasn’t directed at Killua. To him, he spoke in a tone that only barely qualified as “calm,” repressing his anger around the younger boy. “How much do you know about the Succession War, Killua?”

Killua put his hands behind his head. “Honestly? Not much,” he nonchalantly replied. Kurapika admired how little control Killua’s emotions had over him, how consistently calm he could be in even the most dangerous of situations. “Just what I’ve read on the Dark Web, and that doesn’t qualify for much.”

“But you know of the basic premise? That the 14 princes have to kill one another to succeed their father?”

“Yeah, I gathered that much,” Killua replied. One singular emotion--disgust--crossed over his face for a brief moment. “Even the children will perish,” he continued, thinking of Marayam and Woble specifically. Killua had been raised without the ability to develop empathy for those that perished; it was a natural part of the job. But ever since he and Gon fought in the NGL and learned just how many hundreds of children perished at the hands of the Chimera Ants, and ever since he rescued Alluka, something inside of him...changed. Aimless violence towards children became a trigger, something that made his blood boil and his gaze darken. 

“Maybe, maybe not,” Kurapika said cooly. Looking down slightly at Killua, who raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement and puzzlement, Kurapika pulled his Hunter's License out of his pocket. 

“I’m still a Hunter, remember?” he said, the left side of his mouth curling up in the ever-so-subtle faintest hint of a smile. “I was hired by Queen Oito to protect Woble. That’s why I’m here now.”

Killua could barely contain his excitement. “What!!? Kurapika, that’s huge!” he said, giving his friend something of a side-hug. “If she’s a queen, she’ll pay you loads!” 

“Well, that’s what I thought too,” Kurapika said. His gaze hardened as he looked away from Killua and out at the Black Whale. “But things have changed. You mentioned the Dark Web? I’ve been reading about the princes on there, too.”

He pointed to the Black Whale’s upper deck, then to a much smaller, white vessel floating nearby: the vessel of the Elder Princes of the Kakin Empire. They watched as the vessel docked and Princes poured out, transferring from the smaller ship to the massive cruiser. 

“Fourth Prince Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou, from the King’s first wife Unma, is my new target.”

Killua raised an eyebrow. “What did he do?”

Kurapika’s eyes began to turn scarlet, and his fist tightened, chains instinctively manifesting on his right hand. “He’s in possession of the final pairs of the Kurta Clan’s scarlet eyes.”

Killua’s eyes widened, and his expression became one of shock. “Are you shitting me?!” he exclaimed. 

Kurapika shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I took this job to protect Woble for a quick payment, not knowing the stakes, or the situation at hand. I will still protect him with my life, but Tserriednich is my new top priority. I will kill him and reclaim my Clan’s eyes.”

Killua always had one prevailing emotion anytime he was around Kurapika: worry. Worry that his friend would lose himself in his revenge quest. Worry that Kurapika would perish before he could reclaim the scarlet eyes. Worry that fighting the Phantom Troupe would make him no better than those monsters. Worry that every time they spoke, it would be the last time. 

Killua kept all this to himself, biting his tongue and letting Kurapika finish his sentence. 

“That’s why I called you and Gon,” Kurapika told him. “I heard from one of my informants that Hisoka would be here. You two have the most experience dealing with him; you and Gon probably know his Nen abilities inside and out. I thought we could take out two birds with one stone, but unfortunately, it sounds like Gon went back home.”

Ah, there it was: the elephant in the room. Gon Freecs. 

Killua had a million questions on his mind. Why didn’t Kurapika call them sooner? Why did it always have to be about a job, or a bizarre revenge quest? Why didn’t he reach out to Gon when the boy was in the hospital? He knew that Gon couldn’t use Nen anymore, right?

As much as Killua hated to admit it, the entire experience reminded him of Ging Freecs. After years of searching for him, Gon only found a deadbeat dad who couldn’t give a shit about him. That was Killua’s impression, anyways, and it pissed him off. He’d known Kurapika for over a year now, and their quartet had bonded taking the Hunter’s Exam together: he didn’t want his friend to end up the same, never making the first move, only reaching out when he needed something. 

Once again, Killua bit his tongue. 

“You came to the right guy, Kurapika. Hisoka and I aren’t exactly on the most friendly terms, and I think I have some information I can give you.”

When Kurapika called him two days ago, saying that he had a massive job that would pay them both handsomely, Killua had to suppress his natural instincts as an assassin. That part of his life was over; now, he needed to be concerned about Alluka, and Alluka alone. She needed him. 

Then, Kurapika said the job was about Hisoka, and Killua couldn’t agree fast enough. 

Illumi and that clown bastard had almost taken his little sister away from him, and fought tooth-and-nail to keep her imprisoned in the Zoldyck estate. Hisoka killed Gotoh, slitting his throat like it was a hot knife flying through butter; Killua could never forgive that. He knew there was a chance that they wouldn’t stop until Alluka was back. After seeing how strong Kurapika could be at Yorknew, Killua knew this was his best chance to squash those threats to his sister. 

“What information?” Kurapika asked, his curiosity peaked. “You mentioned over the phone that something happened between Hisoka and your family. What were you talking about?”

Killua kneeled down, pulling his backpack off his shoulders and reaching into the front pocket. As he sifted through the supplies he brought for this job, he spoke. 

“A few weeks ago, I needed some help to heal Gon,” Killua said, as he glanced back up at Kurapika. He tried to gauge the older boy’s reaction to the name; Kurapika didn’t react in the slightest. Killua was disappointed, but not surprised. “He’d been badly hurt after fighting one of the Chimera Ants,” Killua explained, knowing full well that Kurapika knew all of this, but leaving out the details about Pitou and Gon aging himself. “My sister can grant wishes; I needed to bring her to him, but Illumi tried to stop us.”

Correctly deducting what happened next, Kurapika spoke. “And Illumi brought Hisoka with him, I take it?”

Killua nodded. “Right. They almost took her away from me, but I was stronger than the last time I encountered either of them.”

Killua found what he was looking for in his bag: a picture of his brother. Standing up and unfolding the picture, Killua thought it would be better for him to show Kurapika his new ability, as opposed to telling him. 

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Killua activated his Hatsu. Lightning surged throughout his body, and a small halo of electricity emitted from his forehead; his hair stood up, and a light blue aura covered him from head-to-toe. 

Kurapika’s mouth went agape as he watched the demonstration of newfound power. “So, this must be Godspeed,” he said in admiration.

Immediately, Killua shut off the ability; it used far too much Nen for him to activate it for long periods of time unless he was in a dire situation. 

“There’s more, though,” he said. “My two brothers are after me. They want to bring me home.”

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. “Illumi and Milluki?” he said in disbelief. Illumi made sense, but as for Milluki, he had a vague memory of a rather large teenager who rarely left his room. 

“Not Milluki, no,” Killua said, as he unfolded the picture and handed it to Kurapika. 

Kurapika examined the photo. It was one of a young boy with pale skin and jet-black hair in a bobcut, with a distinctive mole on the left side of his mouth. The boy wore a black kimono with a floral pattern on the bottom, and he had a paper fan in each hand. 

“I was unaware you had another sibling I didn’t know about,” Kurapika said. “Just how many Zoldyck’s are there?”

Killua didn’t give a straight answer, smiling coyly in response. “This is Kalluto, Hisoka’s replacement in the Troupe.”

At the mention of the Phantom Troupe, Kurapika’s eyes turned scarlet once more, but only for a split-second. His grip on the picture tightened, crinkling the edges of the paper. He immediately took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down as he handed the photo back. 

Killua pressed on, continuing with his description. “Seeing as he’s a member of the Troupe, you won’t have any problems using Judgement Chain on them,” Killua explained. “He’s a Manipulator, like Illumi, and he can control paper. Apparently he’s gotten quite a bit stronger since I left home; be careful around him.”

“I can take him,” Kurapika affirmed, teeth gritted. 

After Kurapika first called him, Killua started scouring the web for information on all the places he knew Hisoka frequented. This led to him reading a massive article on Hisoka and Chrollo’s fight; how Hisoka was ripped to shreds, but managed to bring himself back. Disturbingly enough, there were two murders in the area immediately afterwards. Police descriptions of the victims matched Shalnark and Kortopi, two members Killua remembered seeing back at Yorknew. 

Killua considered telling the chain-user that Kalluto and Illumi were almost certainly the rest of the Phantom Troupe, including Chrollo, for revenge against Hisoka. Seeing Kurapika’s reaction at the mention of just one member, Killua concluded that would be a bad idea. If they were to capture the rest of the Kurta’s scarlet eyes, defeat Hisoka once and for all, protect Woble, and fend off Kalluto and the rest of the princes; they would need Kurapika to be as focused as he could. 

“We have a lot to do the next few days,” Killua surmised. “We might have bitten off more than we can chew.”

Kurapika shook his head. “Not quite. You and Gon weren’t the only people I called.”

As Killua re-folded the picture of Kalluto and tucked it away, Kurapika pulled out his phone and started scrolling through photos of the people he’d called for this mission. 

The first photo was of a familiar face from Yorknew. “Melody?” Killua asked. Kurapika nodded. “She’s the ally from Yorknew I trusted the most.”

The second photo was of a shaggy-looking man Killua had never seen before. “This is Izunavi, the man who taught me Nen and Conjuration,” Kurapika explained, before quickly moving on. 

The third photo was of a certain ninja that Killua couldn’t help but despise. “Hanzo,” the white-haired boy said through gritted teeth. For as skilled as Hanzo was, Killua was unable to seperate that skill from the beatdown he gave Gon over a year ago. 

The fourth photo was of a man with incredibly distinctive facial hair. “Basho is his name,” Kurapika explained. “He was one of the other bodyguards I worked with back at Yorknew. He has an absurdly strong Nen ability, but for some reason he only uses it to create fire.”

The fifth and penultimate photo was of a familiar glasses-clad med student. Killua beamed at the sight. “Leorio’s going to be here!” he exclaimed gleefully. Kurapika nodded. He had mixed feelings about somebody he was so close to coming to this mission, but he knew that Leorio was going to be more help than hindrance and was an invaluable asset. 

With a smile lingering on his face, Kurapika scrolled to the final photo. “I think you might recognize this one, too,” he said. Killua was met with a photo of a young-looking girl with curly blonde hair and a red dress. “BISKY?!” he shouted in shock. 

Looking up at Kurapika, Killua was in disbelief. He playfully punched his longtime friend in the arm. “Wow, you really assembled a dream team here,” he told the older Hunter with a wide smile. Not only would he reunite with Leorio, but his and Gon’s old mentor from Greed Island was going to be here as well; he just wished Gon was here to see it all. 

The two were alerted to the Black Whale, as its horn let out a massive, blaring sound. Killua instinctively covered his ears, and Kurapika looked on from their hill, scanning the environment. 

“The final passengers are boarding, Killua,” he explained. “We need to climb on. Leorio should be at the harbor by now.”

As the two jumped from their current positions on the hill and began running over to the massive cruiser, Kurapika turned to Killua. He suddenly adopted a serious tone, looking at his younger friend. “Killua, you already told me about Illumi and Kalluto. Before we get on, is there anything else you need to tell me?”

Killua thought of Chrollo, Machi, Feitan, and all the other Phantom Troupe members that were going to be there. He thought of the images he found online of Hisoka mangled like some kind of Frankensteinian monster, barely clinging to existence with post-mortem Nen. He thought of the mangled body of Shalnark, the decapitated Kortopi, and how Chrollo was almost certainly going to try to get revenge. He thought of what happened the last time Kurapika was in the same place as the Troupe. 

“Nope!” he lied, feigning a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> These are my two favorite characters of the series, and I wish we saw more interactions between them. Of HXH's protagonist quartet, these two are the most analytical, and the two most powerful. With so many characters already, I was really hoping Killua would appear in the Succession War because his presence would add another layer of complexity. So I wrote this not only as a way to express that desire of mine as a "For Want of a Nail" AU story, but to cope with the hiatus. 
> 
> Of the quartet, Gon and Killua are also the ones that interact with Hisoka the most, encountering him in Greed Island and Heavens Arena in addition to the Hunter Exam arc; it's clear that Killua only tolerates his presence because Gon uses Hisoka as a metric to measure his own strength. I really wanted to write a story that examines how Killua thinks of Hisoka with Gon out of the equation, and how his mere disliking of Hisoka has evolved into resentment and hatred in recent times. 
> 
> I love the scene where Killua lied to Gon about Kite being okay in the Chimera Ant arc, and allowed for Gon to believe Kite was alive, because it displays a side of Killua we don't often see: his willingness to lie in the face of preserving the "greater good" of his friends' happiness. I fully believe that if a similar opportunity were to arise with Kurapika and the Phantom Troupe, Killua would actively withhold information to prevent Kurapika from killing himself.


End file.
